


The Malignant Queen

by MidnightNinja27



Category: Three Dark Crowns Series - Kendare Blake
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Switch, Both Arsinoe and Katharine are Poisoners, F/M, Katharine’s touch is lethal, Mirabella is a soft girl, Poisoner Katharine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:41:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23830237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightNinja27/pseuds/MidnightNinja27
Summary: When Queen Camille gave birth, she announced that she had two Poisoner Queens, Arsinoe and Katharine, and an Elemental, Mirabella. The Queens were raised in the Black Cottage by Willa for their first six years before they were sent to Ingrid Down and Rolanth, respectively. Now, Ascension Year will soon begin and it's anyone's guess who will win the crown.
Relationships: Katharine/Pietyr Renard
Kudos: 8





	1. The Queen’s Touch

Narrator's POV

Queen Katharine woke up in her room at Gravesdrake Manor, her sweet snake, Sweetheart, hissing cutely at her.

Katharine smiled at her sweet coral snake, because that was simply what she was: sweet Queen Katharine.

Nearly every poisoner agreed that Queen Arsinoe was the superior Poisoner Queen and that Katharine would be killed shortly after Mirabella when Ascension Year began.

Only Natalia Arron, who was Katharine's personal guardian, seemed to think otherwise.

Katharine wasn't weak by any means, the crowds always said, but Arsinoe was stronger.

Shortly after Katharine awoke, Giselle came in to help her prepare for the day and dress.

Soon, Queen Katharine's silky black hair was perfectly curled and in a beautiful black dress, it wasn't as elegant as what she normally wore but since today would be a day of learning, she didn't need to look very elegant.

***

Meanwhile, Queen Arsinoe was in the woods behind the Manor.

Unlikely her prim and proper sibling, Arsinoe was her exact opposite: every bit rough and tomboyish.

Genevieve Arron, Natalia's sister and Arsinoe's guardian, couldn't get her Queen into a dress for all the crowns in the world.

Unlike Katharine's silky curls, Arsinoe has flat black hair that had been cut as shortly as Genevieve would allow, which was still too long for Arsinoe's taste, but at least it was to her shoulders.

And unlike Sweetheart, Katharine's coral snake, Arsinoe had a much stronger Pygmy Python.

The tomboy Queen, who was currently trying to get away from the drama of the Black Council, was also trying to find a animal to test her poisons on.

***

Back in the Manor, Queen Katharine had eaten her breakfast of scrambled poisoned quail eggs and hemlock poisoned toast smothered with holly jam, finished with milk from a cow fed poison ivy.

Now finished, she made her way to the Poison Room where Natalia waited for her.

Katharine smirked, this was the one area she had exceeded Arsinoe: crafting poisons.

Her older sister, Arsinoe, didn't have the patience to grind the plants to make them a powder to craft with, nor did she like to take the time to extract venom, especially not mix the poisons and venoms to make the most deadly toxins.

No, she preferred the premade ones that Genevieve supplied.

But Katharine, on the other hand, simply enjoyed it, it was her favorite thing in the whole world.

Especially the praise she received from Natalia, who always tested the poison after Katherine was finished, testing it either on a prisoner awaiting execution or, if there were none, on herself.

Natalia knew that unlike Arsinoe's hard personality, Katharine learned best under praise, and that's what she did, even keeping Katharine's best poisons to use for interrogations and assassinations.

So, after some praise, Natalia told Katharine that a guest would be staying with them.

***

Pietyr Renard has just arrived to Gravesdrake Manor, he had been sent for by his aunt, Natalia, to teach the Queens.

He'd be teaching Arsinoe how to appear Queenly and interact with people properly and most importantly her suitors.

He'd be doing the same for Queen Katharine but also to teach her the confidence she lacked.

But, if the rumors were true, Queen Katharine wouldn't last much longer.

***

A few weeks later, Pietyr and Katharine were in the Manor training for suitors.

And by doing so, he had to teach Katharine to kiss after all.

Katharine's mind was blown away every time Pietyr kissed her and she was falling in love with him and him her.

But alas, only a fool would love a Queen.

Suddenly, a recently hired servant slipped into the room, knife in hand as he went to assassinate the Queen, first Katharine and then Arsinoe.

He had been hired by the Westwoods so Mirabella would be a White-Handed Queen since edge had no interest in killing her little sisters and in return he would get a seat on the Black Council.

Luckily, Katharine felt his approach and turned around to grab his arm, the flesh she touched shriveling and turning black.

The man was poisoned at the Queen's touch and died almost immediately, foaming at the mouth and falling to the floor.

Pietyr shouted for help as he pulled the Queen away for safety.

Natalia rushed in, seeing the dead man on the floor, "What happened?"

Katharine was crying into Pietyr's chest: would her touch kill all non-Poisoners? Then how would she have a King-Consort if she won? How could she bare the triplets?

Pietyr mumbled comforts in her ear, telling her that everything would be ok.

Natalia quickly caught on and her mind began to formulate, with this knowledge made it clear that Katharine was the most powerful Poisoner alive, maybe even ever, that the crowds were wrong about which Queen would win.

"I'll fix the problem, Katharine, it'll be like it never happened. But for now, let's keep your new-found ability between the three of us. We need to test it, see if you can control it." Natalia soothingly said

Katharine nodded and wiped her eyes, "Ok, Natalia."

Pietyr carefully escorted Katharine back to her room, helping her lie down and stepped out, hearing her tears resume.

He looked to Natalia, "We need to investigate the servants, make sure there are no more assassination attempts."

"Yes, but what happened when she touched that servant? How much time passed?"

"It couldn't have been more than a minute. The servant tried to stab her while her back was turned but she heard him and grabbed his arm. He shriveled away before I could even call for help."

"We need to test her, she if it's just for non-Poisoners or everyone."

"What do you mean?"

"Because if it works on Poisoners, we might have a way to kill Arsinoe without a bloody mess."

They were both on the same page, Katharine didn't have the heart for true torture, just poisonings.

"Then we shall begin immediately." Pietyr said, glancing back at the door, "Or as soon as she's ready. We still have time before the Quickening."

Natalia nodded and went to prepare...


	2. Beltane

Narrator's POV

Natalia Arron knew for the past decade that she would love and protect Queen Katharine.

She had known that Katharine would be the closest thing she had to a daughter after just after a quick introduction at the Black Cottage.

She was supposed to have raised Arsinoe, but Katharine had won her cold heart almost instantly and she had passed the middle triplets over to her younger sister.

Natalia remembered the day Katharine had first came to Gravesdrake Manor, and how just a few years later Mirabella had tried to flee the island and the punishment the young Queen had faced after, she remembered the talk she'd had with Katharine and the promise she'd made.

"I will always take care of everything, Kat. If you are tired, I will be alert. If you are weak, I will become twice as strong. I will guard the crown for you." Natalia had promised

Ever since that day, Natalia had kept that promise and had been plotting a hundred different ways for Katharine to kill Mirabella, though Arsinoe had always proved a problem.

But, Katharine's new ability might be the perfect solution.

***

The Beltane Festival has arrived and the three sisters found themselves all together for the first time in a decade.

Each Queen found herself on a platform: Mirabella on a platform with a water fountain and a pit of coals; Arsinoe before a feast of poisoned food and drink; and sweet Katharine, on a platform with five criminals tied to their chairs.

Each prisoner had a different gift, one even had no gift at all, the only gift that wasn't represented was Poisoner and they hadn't tested that yet and also didn't want to  
Reveal it if it was true.

Mirabella went first, showing off her mastery of all the elements, making a show with water and wind at the same time; she then played with the fire and made lightning strike it with a loud boom.

Then Arsinoe went, eating the feast like a glutton, shoving the food into her mouth as an announcer said what she was eating; the amount of poison she was eating could kill an armada, yet she didn't even sweat.

Finally, it was Katharine's turn.

The crowds were confused on why the prisoners were near the Queen, but their confusion was muted when Katharine spoke in her cute voice, standing behind the first criminal, "Marilyn Nettle, a giftless woman who has killed a Priestess." She moved to stand behind the next, the Naturalist and listed his crimes.

She went on through the line, announcing the elemental, war gifted and oracle as well.

Katharine made a show of removing her black leather gloves and pocketed them, placing her freed hands on the Oracle, the oracle's tan skin shriveling and turning grey, blood leaking from every orifice and foaming at the mouth.

Next, she caressed the war gifted man's face with the gentleness of a lover, his eyes glazing over as his body received a bluish color, as if he had been poisoned with Winter's Blush.

Katharine continued down the line, each of the remaining three looking like they had died of different poisons.

The crowds looked impressed, Queen Katharine was quite a skilled poison crafter.

Katharine called a attendant to the stage, redonning her gloves, "Test them for poison."

Five tests were performed on the corpses, but all of the tests said that these people had not been poisoned.

The crowd gasped, how could that be possible?

Katharine smiled kindly at them, as if she wasn't surrounded by corpses, and with her performance over, the Quickening had begun.

The next day, two Poisoner Queens found themselves in their two separate carriages on the way back to Indrid Down.

***

In Katharine's carriage, the Queen was laying down, her head on Natalia's lap, she was tired after the show.

Pietyr sat across from his aunt, looking at Katherine with love in his eyes, barely concealed by the Arron mask.

Natalia's face remained neutral, stroking Katharine's silky hair, knowing the youngest triplet loved Pietyr but she knew it couldn't last.

***

In Arsinoe's carriage, Genevieve was furious, how had Katherine done it?

Everyone knew Arsinoe was the superior Poisioner!

With her ability, Arsinoe should have blown them all away, but no, all of the gossip surrounded Katharine.

Some people were rumoring that Katharine was a Blue Queen! That she must be at her strength, that there must have been another sister, an Oracle that had been drowned at birth!

After all, everyone acknowledged the ever weakening gifts and the Queens weakening as well.

Something had to be going on.

***

In Mirabella's carriage, High Priestess Luca was afraid, she knew that Arsinoe was a strong Queen but Katherine's show today had shown her that Katharine wouldn't be as easy of a target as they had hoped.

And it didn't help that Mirabella had absolutely no interest in killing either one of her sisters, she even spoke fondly of them frequently.

***

Soon enough, the Poisoners had returned to Gravesdrake Manor and both Poisoner Queens made eye contact before going to their separate wings of the Manor.

Natalia led Katharine to the basement, knowing that there would be a prisoner awaiting them to test Katharine's ability.

The man before them was the first Poisoner to be put in Death Row in months and so it was time to experiment.

Katharine, already guessing what Natalia had planned, removed her gloves and touched the man's neck, barely brushing it with her fingers.

They waited and it seemed like nothing happened.

Katharine's face showed her disappointment before the man's head rolled and blood leaked from his eyes.

Natalia smirked, knowing victory was assured.

"S-So I'm lethal to everyone?" Katharine asked the blonde woman

"Indeed, Kat, But do you know what that means?" Natalia asked soothingly, stroking her Queen's hair

Katharine shook her head, prompting Natalia to continue, "It means that you can control it with practice. You've touched poisoners for years yet no one died? I've touched you in some way everyday since you turned six and yet here I am. You are perfectly fit to have a King-Consort and bare the next triplets. And you can also be able to kill Arsinoe easily when the time comes."

Katharine smiled, she had been worried about that, but why had she?

After all Natalia always handled everything...


End file.
